protagonist

Where does the word "protagonist" come from? It comes from Greek protagonistes, and was adopted directly into English (1670s).

Protagonist’s story begins in Greek: protagonistes meant “the first combatant, the lead actor.” Literally the first actor, from protos (first) and agonistes (actor, combatant). It reached English by 1670s as protagonist. Settled as the English word for the main character of a story. Today, protagonist means the main character in a story, play, or film.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient protagonistes "the first combatant, the lead actor", literally the first actor, from protos (first) and agonistes (actor, combatant).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1670s protagonist "the main character of a story", settled as the English word for the main character of a story.